


Road Trip

by ciipherdrabbles, orphan_account



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Empire City, Jersey, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Road Trips, Shopping, Steven gets sick, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-09
Updated: 2019-10-12
Packaged: 2020-11-28 01:24:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20958137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ciipherdrabbles/pseuds/ciipherdrabbles, https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Steven, Greg, Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl go on a road trip... and Spinel is there too!





	1. To Empire City!

Amethyst laughs, watching as a bird flies into the windshield. Pearl screams like the world just ended.

As the road has been empty and dusty, causing a total sense of silence, it causes Spinel to jump from the loud sound, stretching herself to the point of her head smacking the roof of the car. There’s some screaming coming from Pearl, Greg, and Steven. Garnet isn’t afraid, but more concerned, trying to keep everyone calm.

"What was that?" Spinel mimics Pearl's volume. Amethyst clutches her stomach, and if she wasn't in a seat she'd probably be rolling on the floor. Her snorts of laughter are the only sound echoing in the van.

"It was just a bird, Spinel," Steven says, his voice is still sore and quiet from the screaming.

“Oh STARS, what is that liquid on the windshield?!” Pearl screamed, pointing to the blood splattered from the bird corpse. “Someone get this roadkill off!” Greg exclaimed, trying to use the wipers to push it off.

Spinel cringed at the sight, gripping her knees and balling up as much as she could without being restricted by the seat belt. Steven saw the concern in the gem’s eyes. Her first road trip, and it was already going badly.

“Here.” Steven held out a plastic bottle that used to be filled with water, but was now instead containing some sort of light pink fluid.

“What is it?” Spinel asked, spiraling her arm around into a small coil as she scratched her head in confusion. “It’s called pink lemonade. Thought it would help you feel better.” Spinel’s eyes widen with curiosity as she takes the bottle from Steven and twists the cap off, putting the bottle to her lips and drinking it, trying to imitate how she had seen Steven drink in the past. She was rather new to this ‘eating and drinking’ thing, but she enjoyed it.

Immediately, her eyes were filled with excitement from the sweet taste, turning to the human-gem hybrid with a mile-wide smile on her face. “Steven, this tastes amazing!” She downs another quarter of the bottle, seeming to have cheered up.

"Okay, let's get this show on the road," Greg says, having wiped the blood off the windshield. It was still visible on the bottom, but Greg figured he could get it later.

He grips the wheel and presses down on the pedal with his foot. The van doesn't move. Greg lifts his foot and presses down again. The van still doesn't move an inch.

“Uh, Dad?” Steven’s voice gains a tinge of worry as Greg repeatedly hits the gas pedal. “Uhh… think we’re outta gas, shtooball.”

“We’re stuck?!” Pearl exclaims, putting her hands to her head. Garnet simply pats Pearl on the head to cool her down. “There’s no need to worry. We’ll just have to push the van to the nearest station. Everyone, pitch in.”

All the gems, including Steven, got out of the car and pushed the van further. With their alien strength, it wasn’t too much of a difficulty, and they were luckily rather close to the gas station. Once they were in front of it, Greg stepped out of the car.

“I’ll go fill ‘er up. You guys wait in the van.” Everyone stepped back inside, Pearl already hastily buckling her seat belt.

The backseat was packed, with Amethyst sitting on the floor while Spinel and Steven were on the seat itself, Spinel’s head rested on Steven’s side as she watched the view from the window she was facing.

The gas station was rather remote, only seeing long highways and a few passing crows in the sky. Steven noticed the solemn look on the pink gem’s face, so he pointed out the window.

“Hey, look, that cloud kinda looks like an alligator!” Spinel raised an eyebrow at Steven’s comparison, but Amethyst quickly caught on. “And that one looks like a bug!”

"And which bug is that, Amethyst?" Spinel questions.

"Uh… a beetle!" Steven chimes in. 

Greg enters the driver's side, and gets the car running again. "I was afraid I'd broken it when a bird flew into the window. I may be rich, but this still cost me a fortune!"

They drive off, Spinel, Amethyst, and Steven pointing out cloud shapes, with Pearl and Garnet even joining in a little, before the three backseat passengers fall asleep, Spinel’s head resting on Steven’s lap.

The pink wild-haired gem woke up to the sound of loud honking and a gross smell of smog and rotting trash. Slowly opening her eyes, Spinel noticed the sky had changed from blue to almost green-ish, the sky blocked by smog. She could hear Pearl coughing, and Garnet stifling hers.

Even Greg was honking the van horn, whacking his hand on the window to get the attention of distracted drivers holding up the freeway. “Ughhh… what’s that noise…?” Spinel groggily spoke, rubbing her head to alleviate the annoying thumping in her head from the loud noise.

“That’s a car horn… must be in Jersey now. Dad, close the window…” Steven was woken by Spinel’s voice, Amethyst shifting around a little in her sleep.

“Yes, please, Greg. How do humans even create a place with such a terrible smell?” Pearl complained, trying to use her hand to fan away the scent.

“Honestly, I don’t even know how.” Greg sighed as he honked the horn at the person in front of him.

Spinel tried to search the sky for a pretty cloud, but the whole sky was covered in them, and in a rather sickly dark hue. She sighed as she looked out the window, looking at the stationary cars on the streets honking loudly, the window luckily muffling a lot of the sound.

Steven looked at Spinel, sad to see her with such a disappointed expression. But his current focus was getting something to eat, as he remembered the last thing he had was breakfast before they got in the van.

“Hey Spinel, can you pass me my backpack? I need some snacks.” Spinel perked up hearing Steven’s voice and complied, handing the boy his backpack shaped like a large cheeseburger.

Steven scavenged through his backpack until he pulled out a bag of Chaaps. He felt relieved to finally eat something again, but felt bad feeling somewhat entertained by his snack while Spinel was still staring out the window, feeling bored.

He grabbed a handful of chips and handed them to Spinel. “You want some? They’re pretty good.” Spinel turned to him and shrugged, taking the chips from him and eating one of them.

“Hmm… salty, but not bad.” the pink gem spoke as she and Steven shared the bag, handing Amethyst some handfuls as well when she woke up.

Steven looked out the window at the groggy atmosphere, feeling the warmth of socialization. Conversing came naturally to him, after all, he was a space diplomat. Not anymore, he thought. 

Everything was fine now.

But then there was Spinel. 

But that was fine now too. He could only wonder what came next and how he would take the next foe. The urban atmosphere and blinding lights around the highway made him feel as if he might already be facing it. Maybe he should have asked Pearl about his mom's experiences before she became Rose Quartz.

His vision spun, a harsh throbbing in his head, and above all a strong sense of nausea. The gross scent of exhaust fumes and rotting litter had gotten to him, and the junk food wasn’t really helping.

“Steven?! Are you okay?!” Pearl had been watching Steven periodically, and noticed how sick he was looking. Spinel turned around from her position of slightly leaning on Steven to notice the poor boy’s condition, one hand to his head and the other to his stomach.

“Steven? Are you okay?! What’s wrong?” Spinel started getting rather frantic. Garnet adjusted her visor. “He’s just sick from the smell from the window. Greg, open the window.”

“Oh, right, can’t have puke in the car.” Greg pushed a button to allow the window to open. The gross scent flooded the car, making Amethyst gag.

Steven pushed his head out the window and puked onto the street. His position obscured the action, but it was still uncomfortable to hear. Pearl watched on in concern from the front seat, while Amethyst kept making gag noises, much to Pearl’s annoyance.

Spinel kept her hand on Steven’s shoulder, not seeing what he was doing, but it sounded unpleasant. She could hear shouting from other peoples’ cars, and the sound of yelling mixed with loud honking was driving her batty.

Luckily, before she could have lost her marbles, Steven pulled his head back into the van, laying back in exhaustion while Greg closed the window, but left it just a creak open to allow at least some fresh air.

“Steven, what happened?!” Spinel tried to ask, but Steven had already fallen asleep.

“Welp, since Steven’s out, guess I’ll nap too. This place is boring.” Amethyst sighed as she closed her eyes and napped again.

Spinel periodically looked at Steven and the window as she tried to make herself cozy. Thoughts of worry flooded in, but she was rather weary from fearing for Steven’s condition and the constant loud noises, so she eventually fell asleep, right next to Steven.

Jersey flew by fast, mostly because a third of the passengers were asleep. It worried everyone that Steven had been so sick, since he never had been before. That was years ago, though, and no one could have imagined how much pollution could affect the once clear state. It was an hour, maybe more, later when the van arrived at the hotel. 


	2. The Hotel (But maybe not that same one as last time?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang arrives at the hotel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this chapter is shorter than usual. But it just felt like a good time to cut it up!

“Rise and shine, gang, we’re here!” Greg exclaimed, Steven rubbing his eyes open at the sound of his father’s voice. Feeling less nauseous, the boy looked out the window to see the bright lights of Empire City in its nighttime scene.

“Spinel, Spinel! Wake up!” Steven nudged his arm continuously, causing Spinel to wake up with a yawn, stretching her arm up into a coil before relaxing.

“Huh…? Steven, you feelin’-” Spinel was cut short by the sight right outside the window she was facing. She pressed her hands and face to the glass, hearing less loud car honks and soft chatter, the just barely distinguishable sound of crickets, and taking in the scents of street vendors.

“Woaaaahhh! This place is amazin’!” Spinel exclaimed, causing Amethyst to get up and feel excited by the sights as well. Garnet looked at the view with a calm curiosity, while Pearl recognized the beautiful sights with a small smile.

“C’mon, everybody get your bags, the valet will take care of the rental van.” Greg stepped out of the van and opened the trunk, a valet man assisting him in putting any packed bags into the bag cart. Pearl had insisted that the gems didn’t need to bring any belongings, but Garnet said that it would be a nice addition to the experience.

Everyone exited the van, Steven carrying his backpack rather than lugging it onto the cart. The gems were in awe of the hotel lobby’s design. The room was lit with glistening fancy chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, a man in a tuxedo playing a soothing piano tune, soft chatter filling the room, and the soothing aroma of lavender all around them.

“Is this the same hotel from last time?” Pearl questioned Greg. “Heh, well, I don’t always keep track of the names.” Greg chuckled, scratching the back of his head nervously.

“I suppose most hotels seem similar here.” Pearl resolved as she, Greg, and Garnet walked over to the reception desk. Spinel didn’t want to make herself look weird in front of so many humans in one area, so she simply followed Steven to sit down on a couch.

Amethyst huffed in annoyance as she sat down too. “Man, I wanna go swing on that big light. But Pearl and Garnet said I gotta ‘behave myself’ while I’m here. Ugh, can’t they just get off my back?!”

“Well, I’m pretty sure Empire City isn’t used to gem culture like Beach City is, so we gotta play it cool.” Steven responded, patting the short purple gem on the back comfortingly. Spinel kicked her legs back and forth as she looked around the room.

It was so beautiful to her. The only sights she’d seen of Earth were the simple boardwalk and town of Beach City, at least when she wasn’t trying to inject biopoison into the Earth.

But this?

The glimmering lights, the feeling of a more alive world, it made her appreciate Earth that much more, except for the gross and dirty experience that was the drive through Jersey.

“Let’s go drop off our bags, everybody!” Greg called, “I figured a penthouse might be too much this time. So, I got individual rooms!”   
“Right then, Amethyst, Steven and Spinel, Pearl and Garnet, and I get the last room to myself!”   
Greg said, giving everyone the keycards to the hotel rooms. It was a fancy hotel, after all. Keycards are better than keys so people aren’t breaking into hotel rooms with key molds.

Look at this mini-fridge, Steven!” called Amethyst, “It’s even got a water dispenser!”  
“Oh no! They shrunk a fridge!” Spinel gasped. She tried pulling it out of the wall. “We won’t have enough room for food! Steven’s gonna die!”   
“It’s fine Spinel, it was made that way!” Steven tried explaining.

The pink gem’s eyes searched Steven for any signs of dishonesty, but other than his stance — she WAS pulling a fridge out of the wall, after all — she found nothing. Spinel tried to laugh it off, but really she just wanted to push her body into the mini-fridge and be left there to frost. 

“Right, Steven,” she laughed, dropping the fridge and opening the door. She shifted to fit in and slowly slid into the mini-fridge. “Look at this~!”

Amethyst found it funny. Steven noticed Spinel’s hesitation but laughed along as well. At some point in the night, the three gems — mostly gems — were sitting on the bed watching a movie in the dark. 

“Is she gunna die, Steven?” Spinel said. She was worried about the conflict of the movie and she knew Steven had watched it before.   
“I don’t know,” Steven shrugged, and turned his attention back to the screen. “This is the best part, Spinel! It’s when they start singing.”  
Amethyst laughed, “It’s nice to know you’re still a sucker for musicals, Steve-O.”

“Heh, yeah, they just always know how to get me, y’know?” Steven chuckled at his quartz friend as the movie continued. Such a form of entertainment entranced Spinel. A gem built for entertainment, she felt she was, if only for a moment, a proper critic of entertainment. The story sucked her in, and the acting of the people in it felt so real. The pink gem gripped the blankets in excitement, anticipating every exciting moment.

Eventually, the film came to an end, and Spinel finally tore her focus away from the screen. Looking around her, she noticed Steven and Amethyst had fallen fast asleep, the latter of the two lying on the floor, her legs pressed to the side of the bed. Spinel feared if she moved, she’d wake Steven up, so she simply made herself comfortable on the bed, giving Steven his space as much as she could without being too far away from him.

Steven seemed happy to have that hell of a drive over with, and so was she. Spinel looked at Steven with a warm smile on her face before she too drifted away into slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, kudos, anything is appreciated!
> 
> Constructive criticism is well received!


	3. Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang goes to a store in Empire City. If you can guess what it's based on ciipherdrabbles will personally congratulate you. Maybe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Might be the last one for a while.. sorry, but unless we get more support we can't really see the point in continuing it.

“Steven, Amethyst, Spinel, wake up!” Pearl chimed in cheerily as she knocked on the room door. Steven was the first to wake up, noticing Spinel still asleep on the bed and Amethyst snoring on the floor.

He slowly slid off the bed and quietly made his way to the hotel room door, opening it to see Pearl with a pleasant smile on her face standing in the doorway.

“‘Mornin’, Pearl.” Steven whispered groggily, having just woken up. “Steven, don’t fall asleep in your clothes next time.” Pearl said with lidded eyes and a joking smirk on her face, getting a quiet giggle out of the teenage hybrid. “Heh, right, right.”

Pearl adjusted her sparkling jacket a bit before speaking again. “Garnet, Greg, and I are planning the day for you two, so I just thought maybe I should let you know that you three can call room service for breakfast here today. I know Spinel and Amethyst technically don’t have to eat, but Garnet said they might appreciate it.”

Steven chuckled, knowing Garnet probably saw them happy about it with her Future Vision. “Right. I’ll call it when they wake up.” He put his hand into a thumbs-up and pointed it behind him, showing the other two gems still asleep.

Pearl had only just noticed the gems sleeping, and put a finger to her lips, as if to signal she would be quiet. With a quick exchange of thumbs-up, Pearl walked off, Steven quietly shutting the door. He silently slid back onto the bed and pulled out his phone, deciding to text Connie about the trip while the other two were still asleep.

Steven found Connie was worried about the fact that he had thrown up the evening before. Steven tried to reassure her he would be okay, but Connie was persistent that he shouldn't drive through Jersey and instead take Lion home. 

Steven forgot all about the two sleeping gems around him and groaned in frustration, waking Spinel up. Amethyst continued snoring even louder.   
“Steven?” Spinel whispered, rubbing her eyes. Even though she didn’t need to, she usually mimicked Steven’s actions.  
“Oh.. Spinel! Sorry I woke you up,” Steven turned to face her, “How was your sleep?”  
“I had ta wake up eventually, Steven,” Spinel said, looking around the room, “and I slept great.”  
“That’s good, Spinel.”

“So.. which one of us should wake up Amethyst?” Steven inquired, nervously looking over at the purple quartz gem.

Spinel scratches her chin in thought for a moment before spiraling her arm and pointing upwards, indicating she has an idea.

She twists her pinkie into a horn and blows into it, causing Amethyst to jump awake and for the two other awake people in the room to start laughing hysterically.

Eventually overcoming the initial surprise, Amethyst starts laughing with them.

At least until Pearl bursts into the room.

“Steven!! Are you okay?!”

Spinel rolls her eyes and turns her pinkie finger back to normal. “Relax, Pearl. Just a wake-up call fer Amethyst.”

Pearl’s face was stern, yet not hostile. “Look, no funny business in the hotel, Greg’s already paying a fortune for this room.”

The three gems gave her a thumbs-up as a response before the lanky gem closed the door.

Steven hopped off the bed and put his hand on the hotel phone. “I’m calling room service, what do you two want?”

“Pancakes!” Spinel said after taking a moment to walk over and read through the menu. “Second that!” Amethyst adds. Steven nods and makes the order, the wheeled table coming into the room a short while later.

“Now that’s what I call service! Dig in!” Amethyst just about faceplanted into her pancakes, while Spinel was a bit more careful.

The pancakes were nice and sweet with the syrup poured on. Spinel couldn’t resist the small sparkle in her eyes from showing.

“Steven, this food stuff is amazing! And you humans have this stuff *all* the time?” Steven nodded at Spinel’s question. “Humans need this stuff to survive. Sometimes it isn’t healthy for us, but we manage.”

Once the three were satisfied, Steven noticed a text from Pearl on his cellular phone. “Hey guys, Pearl, Garnet, and Dad are waiting in the lobby. We’re going out into the city today!”

“Y-Ya mean we get to go out *there*?!” Spinel asked with excitement, rushing over to the window and pointing at the busy view of the city, the sky covered with a cozy layer of light gray clouds.

Steven nodded, Spinel excitedly jumping onto the bed, then to the floor. “This is gonna be so FUN!!” Steven smiled seeing Spinel, once so distraught and pained, appearing so excited and jovial.

The group of 5 gems and 1 human hopped into the rental van and drove down the streets of Empire City.   
"I've never seen this place during the day," Steven remarks, "It's a lot more…"  
He cringed. "Dead."

Not that nobody was there, but as they were driving to a place Steven did not know, the entire city looked less alive. The blinding lights and flashy colours were now dim in the sun. Despite the crowds of dozens of people on every street, none of them looked happy.

"It sure is! But the buildings are still soooo tall!" Spinel remarks, twisting her body to be less than a foot in front of Steven.  
"Yeah.. no doubt," Steven laughs nervously. Spinel still had a long way to go with personal space.  
"So, Steven, what happened yesterday?" Spinel asks, looking concerned. Steven understood her worry, but he thought if he told her he might traumatize the poor gem. 

'When I don't feel good, I throw up everything in my stomach along with some acidic bile,' Yeah right. Like he was going to say that.

"It's fine, Spinel.." Spinel relents, twisting back to sit in her seat.

"We're here, you two!" Greg calls to the last two gems in the van. Steven looks around. He hadn't even noticed the van had stopped.  
"Coming, Dad!" Steven pulls out his seatbelt and hops out of the sliding van door. 

Then he notices where they are. A large store that stands out in the sea of concrete is right before his eyes. Several dozen people can be seen in the windows, all shopping. But for what?

Spinel hops behind him, he can hear her coming. There’s people dressed like toy soldiers standing outside the door, opening it for the incoming group of gems and 1 human.

The gems were in awe of the sight. The place was full of vibrant colors and shelves filled with stuffed animals, a long escalator leading upstairs to their right. Further forward was a large section with candy all over the shelves, extravagant decorations for each candy company that caused young toddlers to drag their weary mothers and point at them.

“Woah, Dad, what is this place?” Greg shrugged, getting a good look around the room. “It’s the biggest toy store in Empire City. I know you’re 16 and all, but maybe you’d find something you’d like here.”

Steven shrugged back, knowing even though he had matured, he was still a child at heart, hence the excitement upon stepping into the store.

“I’ll be in the candy section!” Amethyst yelled, running off. Pearl looked nervous at the thought of leaving Amethyst on her own before Garnet put her hand on the lanky gem’s shoulder. “I’ll keep an eye on Amethyst.” the fusion said with a smile before walking off, trying not to make as much of a scene as Amethyst.

“Well, shtooball, guess Pearl and I are stickin’ with you and-”

“SPINEL!” Pearl called out. Steven looked up to see Spinel swinging from one of the extravagant lamps to the next floor. “C’mon, Steven!!”

“Spinel, be careful!” Steven shouted as he ran after the excited pink gem, heading up the escalator so as not to make as much of a scene as well, as a few children were pointing to the gem swinging on the ceiling lamps.

He steps up the escalator and finds himself in a crowd of 3 foot toddlers. He stops for a second and looks to find Spinel from the new vantage point. He sees Spinel across the store, jumping over queue poles. It was chaos. Steven could practically hear the screams of parents and children, because he could.

Slowly stepping over the rowdy children, Steven made his way to the screaming crowds. On the way he fell over multiple times because of them, but eventually he made it to the wrecked queue. He caught the pink gem's eyes. She was messing with a life-sized piano.   
"Steven! Look at this!" she called to Steven, growing her hands to be a suitable size for the piano and playing it.   
"Spinel, come with me," Steven stepped over the ruined queue, making his way to the gem. She stopped playing and let her hair hang lower than usual. "Look at this. Let's just go do something else."

Spinel looked at the mess she caused. Somewhere, deep in her mind, she felt a shred of guilt but she pushed it back. 

"Okay, Steven," she said, standing up and hunching over.   
"Sorry about this," Steven said to the nearest employee. He looked to Spinel, as if expecting her to say something. He cocked his head slightly towards the employee. 

Spinel just kept going. There she goes, ruining all her surroundings again. Her mind flashed back to her first visit to Earth, trying to destroy it. Taking one last quick look at the mess, with the staff trying to put the cues back upright and keep kids from rushing out towards the piano, somehow it reminded her of all the panicked citizens of Beach City from her attack.

She clutched Steven’s hand a bit tighter, the images building up in her head.

‘Why did you just go off on your own? Steven, the other Crystal Gems, the Diamonds, without them you’d just wreck everything…’ The bad thoughts rang in her head. She was trying not to screw this road trip up for Steven, someone that she cared about strongly, it was his trip as much as it was hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Share, comment, kudos, anything is appreciated.
> 
> Constructive criticism is welcome! We love to build off of our work and fix the problems in it!

**Author's Note:**

> Comment, sub, kudos, whatever you want!  
Constructive crits are appreciated.  
Will update every two days!


End file.
